K2_ How This Girl Walked to the World's 2nd Tallest Mountain

What's your name? Ahmed Hussein My name is Efaheim What does this have to do with the K2 Base Camp trek though? Well, almost everything actually. But let me start at the beginning. One beautiful summer day at the peak of my youth, I found myself on a dusty jeep track in the remote north of Pakistan. The road was taking me towards the starting point of an exciting summer adventure. See, I had just booked myself a place on one of the most challenging commercial treks available today, run by a young and bright company called Find My Adventure. After completing the Everest Base Camp trek the year before, I was about to embark on the K2 Base Camp trek. This 200km circuit across rocks, glaciers and snow was meant to bring me to the foot of the world's second tallest mountain, K2. In the heart of the Karakoram Range, it took us 7 hours just to reach the village of Askoli, where our trek was due to begin. So I'm just in my tent right now, and it's the last night before the trek, and I guess the first night of the trek too, and I'm just thinking about tomorrow and the journey that lies ahead of us, and I'm a little bit nervous to be honest, because it's a pretty big physical and mental challenge, but I'm still just really excited, really excited for the journey ahead. Alright, good night guys. If there's one thing you should know about the K2 Base Camp trek, it's this. It takes two weeks to complete it, and during those two weeks you have to bring all your food, supplies and shelter with you, because there is zero tourism infrastructure along the way. Alright, I think everybody's ready to get going, there's a lot of commotion here. But of course we couldn't leave Askoli empty handed. Just got these two little colorful charms from a lady here in the village, she was selling them for good luck on the road. So I guess this is a sign that all will be well. As they say here, Inshallah. This is the map of the entire Karakoram Park. So we started here in Askoli, we walked right here to Medani, this is where we are right now, but wait for this, the entire route is right there. That's it, that's it, it's quite far, it's quite far. See, when you start out on a trek like this, you just ask yourself, why did I even sign up? The amount of walking you're about to do on crazy difficult terrain is plain insane. This doesn't look like the most stable bridge I've ever seen in my life, but apparently this is only one of many bridges like this along the route, so we're going to have to brave it. Let's go. But then, eventually you always realize again why you're there. How does this happen? I mean, I am on a beach, a sandy beach, surrounded by some of the world's tallest mountains, with snow caps on top. How does this happen? With 6,000 meter peaks jutting out at every corner and a long winding road ahead, you know that the Karakoram Mountains are a force to be reckoned with, and that was just the beginning. Guys, I don't know about you, but I've never spent four days walking across a glacier. That's exactly what we're about to do right here with Baltoro Glacier, one of the biggest, not just in Pakistan, but in the world. Wow, this is going to be quite the adventure. Here's where things started getting a lot harder. The thing about walking on a glacier is that it's a constant murderous up and down, so you're climbing up only to come down again around the next bend. And adding to the danger, just below the thin layer of rock you're stepping on, it's all slippery, endless ice. Enough about the walking, though. There's one really important part of the K2 Base Camp trek that people sometimes forget about, but this is actually how we spend most of our time. I want to show you around our camp. Because you're constantly moving towards your destination, every day you stay at a different campsite. And the most common question that people ask me about that is... toilets, washrooms, showers. The reality is that this is our washroom. Hey, I'm not complaining. The bedrooms. This is not a hotel kind of situation. On this trek, we sleep in tents. And yes, it does get cold, and no, there is no heating. So I want to show you around my junior suite. I don't know what to call it. Let's go in. Okay, this is probably one of the most important places of the trek. This is your bedroom. This is where you get a proper full night's rest. Now, keep one thing in mind. Right now, we are sleeping on a glacier. That means that right underneath this tent, it's rock and ice. So, this is a sleeping mat. It makes it just a little bit more comfortable. This is a sleeping bag, the most important item you can bring on this trek. If you have a bad sleeping bag, you're going to be freezing and probably sick. See, levels of comfort may not be super high here. But it all depends on what you see comfort as. For example, this tent right here, this is our mess tent. Our communal tent where we spend pretty much our entire evenings. And this is the true meaning of comfort on this particular trek. Let's go inside. It's always warm here because of the fire and because of the cooking. And this is the place where we get chai and food. And start eating those delicious looking pakoras. This deliciousness. I mean, this is exactly what you need after a long day of trekking. And it's all thanks to Iqbal, our amazing chef, who's been feeding us incredible food throughout this entire adventure. See what I mean? Small moments that make you say thank you after long days of trekking. The true meaning of comfort is right here. Within this comfort. But there is one very specific reason why us trekkers can feel cozy and comfy on this hardcore trek. These guys. The porters of Pakistan. The mountain men who carry all your equipment up the side of the mountain to 5,000 meters and beyond, 20 or 30 kilograms at a time. This could just be the hardest job in the world. And of course, I wanted to give it a try. He does it. That's crazy. The job of a porter is a really difficult job. I mean, I could barely walk with this on my back. But imagine, he actually has to walk 200 kilometers. So at one of the camps, I decided to take a peek behind the scenes and see how these underrated superheroes spend their free time. And what I saw was pretty surprising. The porters hang out together, all of them friends having worked side by side for years. They huddle around a fire for hours at a time in their own comfort zone, making bread. Wow, is this for me? Oh, this is the typical roti that the porters here eat and make right here on this fire. It's garam, which means it's hot. Let's try. Wow. So good. Amazing. Just literally fresh off the fire. Perfectly baked, hot bread. And so filling. This gives you energy for the entire day. Wow. Obviously, I thought, let's give this a shot. How hard can it be? Come on, I'm a travel vlogger. Surely I can handle this. Getting good at this. And then disaster struck. I think I'm better at eating them than actually making them. So I'll stick to that. This was just the most incredible thing. As you can see, I've eaten pretty much all the bread. But to see how the porters make their food and how they eat it and what kind of community it is, you don't get this anywhere else in the world. Only in Pakistan. Anyway, time to go back to camp. Let's go. I guess all of us on the trek have our own little comfort zones and mine had just started to expand. I love the rotis made by the porters, but honestly, the food that we've got here in the tent is just unbelievably good. Wow. But as always on the K2 Base Camp Trek, your thoughts and your legs return to the trail. The entire landscape soon changed, evolving into a snowy paradise with some of the world's tallest summits dancing high around you. In this small, concentrated area, there are four peaks over 8,000 meters, four out of the world's 14. It can be an intimidating sight, realizing just how small you are in this wilderness. And eventually, you find what you came here for. K2. This view is worth every single hour that we spent suffering, trekking, hiking in the snow, on the glacier. Nothing really beats this view. Nothing. The world's second tallest mountain at 8,611 meters, K2 stands high above all the peaks that surround it. The next stage of the journey would take me from these views right up to the foot of the mountain and its base camp. This, I think, was so far the coldest night we've experienced on the trek here in Concordia. Maybe minus 15. And there's a lot of snow. It snowed all night, which means that the way to K2 base camp is pretty rough. There's snow up to the knees, up to the waist. And actually, the entire team will stay behind here at Concordia, at camp. And I will be the only person that goes with the guide to the camp. So I'll be filming everything on this GoPro. I'm excited, but nervous. But I just really want to get there. Okay, it's time to go. So, how do you feel? Very good feeling here. Much snow here. There's so much snow. Yeah, yeah. It's the first time in my life. Really? Yeah. And he's been working here for quite a long time, so this is saying something. This part of the trek would take me from the glacier of Concordia to the actual base camp of K2. That's the place where all the summit expeditions stay to prepare and go up the mountain itself. Today, we were expecting to trek for 10 hours in the deep snow and cloud and ice in the most difficult terrain of the trek to date. That wasn't tiring. This is not an easy trek. This river doesn't look friendly. And where's the bridge? One, two, three. We had good speed. I think my own motivation to reach K2 base camp was running so high that I felt myself whizzing through the snow like a total pro. I was exhausted, yes. But it was one of the most exciting journeys I'd ever been on. Soon enough, we got there. That over there, that is seriously... I can't even talk. That is K2 base camp. After a week of trekking in the Karakoram wilderness, I can't believe I'm actually here. I made it. It feels so good. It was all worth it every single step of the way. I'm just so happy to be here. Although it was really, really, really tough, guys. It was really tough. K2 Base Camp Okay, yes, we still had over 100 kilometers to go on the way back, but now that seemed like a formality. See, I made it to one of the most remote base camps in the world. Made it through some of the roughest terrain on this planet. Made it to uninhabitable altitudes through crazy weather. Made it through thick and thin. I made it.